The state government of Bihar had commenced caste survey in the state in January 2023 with the budget of Rs.500 crore. The enumeration started after the BJP-led centre made it clear that head counts of social groups other than scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes will not be undertaken during the population census. 80 percent of the survey was completed in Bihar.
Many petitions challenging the move were filed at Patna High Court thereby the Court had awarded interim stay for the commenced caste survey. After conducting the case of challenges, now the Patna High Court has rejected all the petitions and vacated the stay. The court has stated thus:
“Action of the state in carrying out a caste journey… and the vigorous challenge raised to it on multiple grounds reveal that despite attempts to efface it from the social fabric, caste remains a reality… survey has neither exercised nor contemplated coercion to divulge the details and having the test of proportionality, thus not having violated rights of privacy of the individual especially since it is in furtherance of a compelling public interest which in effect is the legitimate state interest.”
The High Court held that the state government’s initiative is ‘perfectly valid and legally competent’ and does not violate the fundamental right to privacy of any individual as it is in the nature of ‘compelling public interest’. Immediately after the judgment, the Bihar State Government ordered all district magistrates to complete the remaining work in the survey.
Whenever there was a dispute related to the share of reservation for the BCs, SCs & STs people it was invariably asked by judiciary to furnish the data on population of the respective category. Based on that when the State government appealed to the Union government for the enumeration of caste during the course of the population census, it was turned down. The reason quoted by the Union government was that such caste enumeration would affect the unity and harmony in society. Even the Socio Economic Survey 2011 report submitted was not released by the Union government for the quoted reason.
The present judgment of Patna High Court is an eye opener for the rest of the State governments to commence caste census for their respective states. Such census request would enable the dispensation of social justice based on the doctrine of proportionality besides extending welfare schemes to the needy communities who are economically deprived.
V. Kumaresan
